The E-Sylum: Volume 9, Number 23, June 4, 2006, Article 13
AMERICANA IN THE NEXT AMERICAN NUMISMATIC RARITIES SALE
John Kraljevich of American Numismatic Rarities writes: "ANR's
next auction catalogue is online now at anrcoins.com. This sale
is one of our semi-annual sales that gets into some more obscure
material, including an extensive group of counterstamps, a
collection of colonial currency, a group of Naval medals including
a Henry Lee obverse cliche I'd never see before, some important
Washingtonia, Conder tokens and other world coins, a pedigreed
collection of encased postage, and some very neat related material
like Civil War-era postage stamp envelopes and significant
collection of Civil War-era cardboard money.
QDB, Frank Van Valen, John Pack, and myself all worked on the
exonumia -- we all enjoy it, know something about it, and like
the break it provides from box after box of type coins that
sometimes run together. It's hardly cost effective, but it lets
our geek-factor get a chance to play.
Of course, we all had fun U.S. coins to work on, too. The Springdale
Collection of Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles is a beautiful group.
There is a MCMVII $20 from the collection of Mrs. F.C.C. Boyd from
another private consignor. Over 100 lots of half cents are included,
including some from leading collectors. Gobrecht dollars and Pan-Pac
$50s are represented by multiple pieces. It's a neat sale.
The auction will be held in Rosemont in conjunction with the
Mid-American Coin Expo June 21-23."
[The counterstamps and Civil War numismatica were consigned by
yours truly, so bid early, often and high. These collections
were formed over 25 years, but I made the decision that it's
time to set them free and move on to other areas of numismatics.
The encased postage stamps are the highlight of the consignment,
including many of the scarcer merchants. Here are a couple of
my favorites:
Wayne's FavoritesWayne's Favorites
I began forming the collection in the early 1980s while working
with Bob Kincaid and Fred Reed on the research that became Fred's
landmark book on the subject. Access to Bob's population estimates
allowed me to purchase some overlooked rarities with as few as 2
or 3 examples known. Besides the Civil War history connection, it
was their rarity that attracted me to the series. Many of these
are rarer than 1804 Silver Dollars or 1913 Liberty Nickels, yet
are far more affordable. Less comprehensive as a collection but
equally rare are the related postage stamp envelopes and cardboard
scrip.
The consignment also includes a Confederate Half Dollar Restrike,
the accompanying Scott token, and a 1861-O U.S. Half Dollar with
the famous obverse die break that led some to speculate that they
may have been among the last coins struck by the Confederate States
of America before they closed the captured New Orleans Mint.
These I purchased from the legendary Bust Half collector, Chuck
Erb of Pittsburgh.
More of Wayne's FavoritesMore of Wayne's FavoritesMore of Wayne's FavoritesMore of Wayne's Favorites
Merchant counterstamps were another field I got into, this time
as a result of a presentation by Roy Van Ormer at a meeting of
the Western Pennsylvania Numismatic Society. When Dave Bowers
auctioned Roy's counterstamps in 1987 I purchased several from
the sale and subsequently added more by purchasing from dealers
and private collectors. Like encased postage stamps, these coins
are also teeming with history and many are rarer than hen's teeth.
For fun I pursued a set by undertype, collecting one of every
different U.S. coin type I could find. At the time this was a
way of putting together a poor man's type set, for a counterstamped
Bust Dollar could then be had for less than a comparable
circulated coin without such a mark! Here are a few examples:
More of Wayne's FavoritesMore of Wayne's FavoritesMore of Wayne's Favorites
I hope my old friends find good homes, and look forward to
adding the catalog to my library (and getting extra copies
for my kids, so someday they'll know where the seed money for
their college fund came from). -Editor]